Sporting rivalry meant Michael Bisping never saw eye to eye with Matt Hamill.
Hamill, the only man to have a victory over current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, fought Bisping in 2007.
Bisping, 45, told former UFC lightweight Paul Felder on his podcast about his experiences with Hamill who was on Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter with him.
“We had kind of a rivalry, ended up fighting, and we had a really close fight.
“I was lucky to get a decision. I acted like a p**** afterwards. He went on and had a good career.
“He was so good. His wrestling was ridiculous and he was one of the strongest people ever. So it was just because the biggest threat I had to not win in this show was him.
“Do you know what I mean? So I didn’t like him. It was just that competitive rivalry, you know?”
Former UFC light heavyweight Hamill revealed last week that he could finally hear after 41 years of being deaf.
Born completely deaf, Hamill, 48, defied the odds to become a high school wrestling star before eventually transitioning into a professional MMA fighter and reaching the UFC.
“He is the only person to beat Jon Jones. He beat Tito Ortiz, had a fight with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson,” Bisping added
“So he fought some really tough opposition along the way…I just want to say because we were kind of rivals and, you know, and that was only because he was so good.”
Bisping added that he ‘could not be happier’ for Hamill, while admitting that he would love to have him on his podcast in the near future.
As a fighter, Hamill often relied heavily on visual cues and physical sensations, often using lipreading to have day-to-day conversations.
The three time NCAA III national champion, who has since had a movie made about him named ‘The Hammer’, which retells his life as the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Wrestling Championship, made his UFC debut in 2006.
He won on his debut in June of that year against Jesse Forbes and went on to win three consecutive bouts in Dana White’s promotion.
However, his winning streak was brought to an abrupt end by a 28-year-old Bisping, who was also at the beginning of his UFC career.
Bisping, who now works as a UFC commentator following a successful career in Dana White’s promotion, emerged through The Ultimate Fighter in 2006.
The Ultimate Fighter is a reality TV show where fighters live together and fight one another in an attempt to reach the UFC.
Bisping was selected third by Tito Ortiz, who picked Hamill first in the light heavyweights category.
Hamill beat Mike Nickels in his first bout via unanimous-decision and would’ve fought Bisping in the semi-finals if it wasn’t for an injury that forced him to withdraw.
Bisping proceeded to beat Ross Pointon, who stepped in for the injured Hamill, and finished Josh Haynes in the final to secure his spot in the UFC.
‘The Hammer’ – the biographical film about Hamill follows him right the way to the summit of professional wrestling at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT).
“We weren’t sure, we were intrigued to the point,” writer and producer of The Hammer Joseph McKelheer said about making the film.
“It’s tough to find someone who you can make a movie of their life. We interviewed him one time and the story unfolded itself.
“He has a very interesting story and we knew right away right after that interview.”
Hamill fought for the last time in the UFC in October 2013, losing via unanimous-decision to Thiago Silva, which marked his third defeat in four bouts.
He is often remembered as ‘the guy who once beat Jon Jones,’ but his story goes far beyond that single bout.